Lizard Queen
by hannymae
Summary: After getting caught out doing something that he wasn't supposed to be doing, Hinata Shouyo finds himself to be the household slave of a girl who can't seem to fend for herself. Little does he know that he keeps the company of the daughter of the former kingpin of an underground fight organization specializing in a 'game' called STOMP. Not that it matters... right? [HIATUS]
1. Rainy Days

**_A/N: While I'm really in no position to start any new stories, here we are anyway. I've had this idea for a while now. Might as well list out my priorities for my active fics:_**

 ** _1\. Orange City_**

 ** _2\. Days of Shouko_**

 ** _3\. Lizard Queen_**

 ** _This fic is at the bottom of the priority list, meaning that it should be updated the least often (but don't count on it because inspiration comes at weird times for me in the shower)._**

 ** _School is starting soon so it's likely I'll never finish any of these fics._**

 ** _Summary:_**

 ** _After getting caught out doing something that he wasn't supposed to be doing, Hinata Shouyo finds himself to be the household slave of a girl who can't seem to fend for herself._**

 ** _Little does he know that he keeps the company of the daughter of the former kingpin of an underground fight organization specializing in a 'game' called STOMP._**

 ** _But, pfft, why would THAT matter? This is a story about a girl who likes lizards far too much and a story about a boy who likes volleyball way too much. Do they fall in love? ... Can you ask an easier question?_**

 ** _Part of "Kindergarten Bully" universe. First chapter inspired by Lookism._**

* * *

 _The classroom was simple, though not to the point of being drab. On the walls, near the ceiling, hung a multitude of paintings done by children, whether it be by hand or by brush. It gave the room an atmosphere of the child's eye_ — _muddled by naivety and lack of exposure to the world's many vices._

 _Each student had their own table after advancing to fourth grade, which was a cause for excitement as it made them feel independent and grown up._

 _Hinata Shouyo was not one of the children who enjoyed sitting at their own desk. He rather like sitting on a large table with his peers and socializing the day away. It wasn't like he could still do that, but now..._

 _It felt like there were new boundaries_ — _imaginary shields that kept him from getting_ too _close._

 _No, he decided, he didn't like it all. The room was filled with color and the sound of squealing laughter but there was something that hadn't been there before._

 _Maybe it had something to do with his height, but he didn't like that idea. He was shorter than all of the boys in his class, and a few of the girls were taller than him as well._

 _"Shouyo!" one of the boys, Ichirou, called him over, a big smile on his face. There was a bandage perpetually on his right cheek. Hinata admired that little detail; he thought it made Ichirou looked strong and tough. Not to mention that Ichirou was the tallest boy in their class and everybody (except the teacher, of course) was always literally looking up to him. "Did you hear about the new transfer?"_

 _Hinata smiled back at the boy. Maybe he had been paranoid. Ichirou was still as nice as ever._ _"Transfer?" Hinata tilted his head to one side, curious. "No. Are they a boy or a girl?"_

 _"A girl, I think, but they said she's from the countryside!"_

 _"She must be some kind of hick!" a girl put in quite meanly._

 _Hinata thought that it was funny that she would say that, considering their location wasn't exactly an urban area. He said as much, and the girl frowned at him, pouting._

 _At last, the teacher arrived with the student in tow. She had short brown hair that curled at the ends and a face that reminded Hinata of a pixie; sharp and delicate._

 _She wasn't quite as thin or frail looking as the other girls, though it was hard to tell by the baggy lime green sweater she was wearing. She also had on a yellow plaid skirt that went down to just above her knees and was wearing a pair of green velcro-strap shoes._

 _Her legs were lean, but there was the ripple of muscle beneath her tan skin. Ichirou had said that she was from the countryside, so she must be used to some hard farm work, right? It only made sense that she was taller, broader, and more muscular than her female peers._

 _Respectfully, they all sat down at the teacher's order while the girl assumed a position of standing at the front and facing the class._

 _"She's taller than Ichirou," one girl whispered to another._

 _"No," the girl's friend replied quietly, "I don't think so...!"_

 _The transfer girl gave them all a polite smile before saying, "Hi. My name is Saito Maruichi but please call me Maru-chan. I'm nine years old and I used to live on a farm before I moved here. I like lizards. Please take care of me." She bowed once before lifting her head._

 _The teacher introduced himself to her first, then asked his class, "Does anyone have any questions for Saito-san?"_

 _Someone raised his hand. "Is this your first time going to school?"_

 _Maruichi nodded. "Yes. Before coming here, I was homeschooled."_

 _The same girl who had called her a hick before she had arrived smirked and raised her hand. "Farms smell. Does that mean you smell as well?"_

 _"Hey!" Hinata glared over at the girl. She was being far too mean for his taste. "Don't be mean. I'm sure she doesn't smell."_

 _The girl scowled but stayed quiet, glaring at her desk._

 _"Thank you, Hinata-san," the teacher said, clearing his throat before chiding the rude girl. "Anymore questions?"_

 _There were none, though Hinata was sure that the others were itching to ask some more. It did not escape the orange-haired boy that Maruichi staring intently at him. Before she could drill holes into his head, however, she turned her eyes away and sat down somewhere behind him in a free seat._

 _After school, Hinata took his usual route home. He was learning how to ride a bike and was starting to get the hang of it quickly. But for now, he would have to content himself with walking as his mother wanted him to be confident enough first before riding back and forth to school._

 _He hadn't even left the playground when it started to rain. Hastily, he unzipped his backpack and took out his crumpled yellow raincoat before putting it on. His bag would be out in the rain, but that was fine because it was waterproof. Nothing inside would get damaged._

 _"Oi, Hinata!"_

 _The boy in question turned around to see Kana, the rude girl, marching toward him with a sullen look on her face. Her brother from the sixth grade was walking behind her, looking faintly murderous._

 _Hinata's blood chilled. What did she want?_

 _"Y-yeah?" Hinata stammered out as Kana and her brother stopped right in front of him._

 _"I don't like how you talked to me today," sniffed Kana. "Apologize!"_

 _"Eh?!" Hinata flinched. "But... but you were being mean to her!"_

 _Her brother grabbed him by the shirt collar. "Didn't you hear her?! Apologize or I'll beat you up!"_

 _At the prospect of being beaten up, Hinata readied himself to apologize to Kana. But how could he do that. If he apologized, that would be so... so lame! "No!" Hinata refused, squeezing his eyes shut. "I won't!"_

 _Stars filled his vision and he felt like his face exploded as Kana's brother's fist met his face. Tears slipped out of his eyes and down his cheeks, which only gave the older boy more pleasure._

 _Kana looked on impassively, though the glint in her eyes told anyone watching that she was taking immense pleasure out of Hinata's pain._

Stay strong, _Hinata coached himself as he was thrown into the ground like a rag doll, his back hitting the fence painfully. Awkwardly, he lifted his head up, desperately searching for anyone to help him. But there was no one around. Just him, Kana, and his tormentor._

 _"Hmm? What's going on here?" a new voice asked, and Kana and her brother whipped around to see_ —

 _"You! Country hick!" Kana blurted._

 _Saito Maruichi raised an eyebrow, the ends of her short brown hair poking out from the hood of her raincoat, which was a pale green with polka dots._

 _Kana's brother took over from here. "Hey, brat, get outta here! This is none of your business."_

 _A small, almost creepy smile made its way up Maruichi's face. "No. I don't want to."_

 _"Eh?!" The bigger and stronger boy was not intimidated by her act. He sneered at her. "Who do you think you are?"_

 _"Yeah, who?" demanded Kana._

 _"Please... just go," wheezed Hinata. Maruichi might have been one of the tallest in his class, but he doubted that she would be any match for a sixth grader._ You can still save yourself!

 _"Who am I?" Maruichi mused, totally ignoring Hinata's urging. To the bullies' surprise, she sneered right back, her gaze darkening. "I'm a villain. Just like you guys."_

 _"I'm not afraid to hit a girl!" Kana's brother threatened, swaggering up to her and using his taller height to try and make her back down._

 _Maruichi didn't move, only watched him tauntingly._

 _With a shout, the boy backed away before charging at her, expecting to bring her down with a kick. Hinata, his body still on fire, shut his eyes, unable to bear the sight of Maruichi being knocked down._

 _Maruichi stepped back tantalizingly slow. Then she lifted her knee and jabbed it in his gut. Kana's brother let out a strangled scream before falling to the ground on his knees, clutching his stomach. From Hinata's perspective, her knee jab hadn't even looked that hard, but Kana's brother's shrieks were telling him otherwise._

 _"H-help!" Kana cried weakly, Maruichi's deadly glare stopping her in her tracks._

 _"You tried to hit me," Maruichi said casually, sauntering up to where Kana's brother was kneeling in agony. "That's not good. Do you know what I did to the last guy who tried to hit me?" She stomped on his hand with the heel of her shoes, causing him to cry out again. The sound sent shivers down Hinata's spine. "I broke all of his fingers." She crushed his other set of fingers. "Both hands."_

 _"Stop!" Kana's brother managed to ground out, his bladder loosening as a dark wet patch stained his pants. Hinata pretended that it was the rain. The thought was somehow more comforting. "Why... why are you doing this?!"_

 _"Eh?" Maruichi's smile returned and she tilted her head to one side, as if she was genuinely confused by his question. "Don't you know?" She pointed at Hinata. "Just like you did to him, I am doing it to you too."_

 _Kana's brother's eyes flashed with pure fear and_ — _was that regret?_

 _"I am also beating you for no reason," Maruichi told him, the smile on her face growing more sinister. It was a grin that didn't belong on any nine year old's face. "You see, people like us... we understand each other. Did you hit him for a reason? No, you just made one up to hit him." There was the sound of shouting and Maruichi started to walk away. "Oops, teacher is coming. You and your sister... don't tell, okay? Or else I will beat you both next time. I'm not scared of the teacher."_

 _Slowly, Hinata sat up, shocked by what had just transpired._ Wha... What happened?! She beat him up so easily?! Ehh?!

 _Boots squelched on the wet surface and Hinata suddenly found himself looking at an outstretched hand._

 _"Well?" Maruichi prompted. "Get up. You look really sad down there."_

 _"Thank... thank you," Hinata gasped, taking her hand and grinning. "You were so cool back there! You_ — _you, how did you get so strong?!" And she was a girl too, even if she was taller and stronger than he was. He'd be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't scared of her, but she seemed less... intent on murdering someone now._

 _"Hm? Oh, that's because my family likes to play a game. It's a fighting game." They walked down the concrete path, ignoring the shouts of the teachers and turning a corner so that they escaped their vision._

 _"Fighting game?"_

 _"Yeah." Maruichi smiled at him, the gesture warm and friendly this time around. "Have you heard of it? It's called STOMP."_

* * *

"Eeyaawww..." In the bed, a girl with long, messy brown locks sat up and yawned, her eyes droopy with sleep. She shifted in the blankets for a bit before feeling around for her glasses on her bedside table. There was no alarm clock—her body clock worked well enough. She rubbed her eyes, blinking slowly when she removed her hands from her face.

Finally, she found her spectacles. After wiping them down with her nightdress and making sure that the lenses were free of dust and dirt, she placed them on her nose, her world suddenly becoming clearer.

Getting out of bed, she shuffled against the tiled floor of her bedroom. The first day of school was today; it would also be her first day at Karasuno High, where she would be starting as a second year.

As usual, she cooked up some instant ramen for breakfast, the steam fogging up the lenses of her huge, bug-like glasses.

When she finished getting ready (which didn't take very long as she only had to quickly shower, dress, and clip up her messy bangs).

"Good morning, Levi. Good morning, Bean," she greeted her pet lizards, which she kept in a special tank. "You're coming with me to school, today. I don't want to eat lunch alone."

She draped a cloth over the tank to conceal it, and carried the entire thing in her arms. It was hardly any effort for her. She left the gates of her house, pausing only momentarily to examine the shiny plate that declared that the house as the 'Saito residence'.

"A new school," Maru said to her pets. "It's going to be a lonely experience. I'm lucky that I have you two."

The walk to school wasn't far as she lived close by, and she was there within ten minutes. She could have arrived earlier had her way not been made a hindrance by an obnoxiously steep slope.

"I'm going to need to put you guys somewhere." She walked up and down the school hallways until she found a relatively secluded corridor with locked closet. There was probably some cleaning equipment inside. "Locked, huh...?" She put down her lizard tank and yanked at the door to no avail. Grumbling, she stuck out her leg and kicked it open, the lock breaking upon impact.

Just as she had guessed, it was a spacey broom closet. She hopped inside and closed the door behind her, making sure to take her lizard tank with her inside. She nudged some cleaning equipment aside, putting the lizard tank on a high shelf. There was a high window in the closet that made sure that the closet had plenty of ventilation. It also gave the lizards some well needed sunlight.

It was perfect. She moved the cleaning equipment back in order to conceal the tank, then tore a page from her notebook to use it to write 'out of order'.

 _Something tells me that they'll fall for it._

Maru was gone seconds after sticking her crudely made sign in the wooden door.

* * *

"Shouyo!"

Hinata was glomped by a shorter girl with blonde hair and big brown eyes. Instantly, he grinned and twisted his body in her grip so that they were effectively hugging.

"Miku!" he returned, kissing her forehead and causing her to giggle.

The two second years had been dating for nearly a month now. Kimura Miku was Hinata Shouyo's first and hopefully last girlfriend.

"What class are you in this year?" Miku asked him, grinning. "I'm in 2-3."

Hinata groaned. "2-2! Dammit, so close."

"Aw, it's okay," Miku comforted him, touching his shoulder. "We won't be far apart. We can visit each other as much as we want."

Hinata perked up. "Yeah, I guess. And you'll come to volleyball practice at lunch, right?"

"Mmhm!"

Miku kissed him on the lips, forcing a blush up his neck and face.

"G—geh—"

He promptly fainted into Kageyama's waiting arms (the setter had just come by). The black-haired boy scowled. "Oi, wake up, dumbass, we have class together this year."

Miku smiled, laughing. "I'll leave you two to it."


	2. Introductions

_As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge._

— _Henry Van Dyke_

* * *

"Oh, look, Miyuki-chan, we're in the same class again!"

"Indeed! Here's to a good year, Kona-chan."

There were few students crowded around the board listing everybody's classes; most students had already found their name and headed to class to meet their new (or old) classmates. Being a new student, Maru was one of those students, leisurely scanning the board for her name.

"Class 2-2, huh?" Maru murmured to herself, finally spotting her name. "Hmm... I guess I didn't do as well on the entrance exams than I thought..."

She dragged herself to her class, well aware of the people whispering about how big her glasses were. She didn't blame them, really. Kids loved to gossip and her bug-eyed spectacles were just an exotic new thing that would likely disappear by the end of the day.

 _To be fair, my glasses must look really, really big on my face..._

Maru stopped in front of her allocated classroom as she watched a black-haired scowling boy slap an orange-haired kid awake. The orange-haired boy, blushing furiously, yelled something at the other boy before standing up on his own and smoothing down his uniform shirt.

 _Orange..._

* * *

 _"It's called STOMP," Maru said to Hinata, grinning with all her teeth. "Want me to teach you?"_

 _Hinata looked like he was about to say yes, but faltered and chewed on his lip thoughtfully. "I don't know... my okaa-chan won't like me fighting."_

 _"That's okay. I won't make you learn. Do you like anything else?"_

 _"Yeah! Sports! Like running, and jumping, and_ — _and I'm doing baseball right now!"_

 _"That's cool. Sports I like are STOMP and volleyball."_

 _"Volleyball?" Hinata splashed in a puddle, spraying water on Maru's socks. Her socks were already damp from the rain so she didn't mind. "Is it fun?"_

 _"I guess. My family told me to play a normal sport in my spare time so I chose volleyball. I think I'm pretty good at it... I mean, all you do is hit it over the net without letting it touch the ground, right?"_

 _"Uh huh. I think it was something like that. Volleyball sounds fun but I bet baseball is way more fun!" Hinata declared vehemently._

 _Maru giggled. "Don't be so sure! Volleyball is more interesting than it sounds."_

 _"Whatever," Hinata said flippantly, "I don't think volleyball is my kind of sport anyway..."_

* * *

Maru shook her head. _Nope. Don't remember him. Seems familiar though. Maybe he has a relative. Orange hair isn't really all that common around here._

"Excuse me," Maru spoke up when she realized that the two boys were blocking the door. She sincerely hoped that they wouldn't cause any trouble for her. "Please let me through."

A blonde girl that Maru hadn't noticed before shook the orange-haired kid's arm. "Come on, Shouyo, you're blocking someone."

"Oh, sorry!"

"Hinata dumbass," the black-haired boy grumbled before pulling them both out of the way.

"Shut up, Bakageyama!"

"Thank you," Maru said simply, giving the blonde girl a wary glance before entering her classroom. _Respond as simply as you can. If you're rude, you'll end up being disliked. If you smile too much, they'll call you a slut._

It was simple high school etiquette. The unspoken laws that one had to abide to if they didn't want to gain unwanted attention.

 _Of course, those rules only apply to those who are..._

Maru gazed around her classroom. A group of pretty girls were clustered to one side, discussing a new music video. Three handsome guys stood at the back, laughing about something. A few more people were at their desks with their friends surrounding them.

 _Not attractive. People like me._

Girls who were too tall to be considered appealing. Girls who didn't take care of their hair and simply clipped up their bedhead hair in the mornings so that oily strands still stuck up in the air. Girls who wore round glasses bigger than their face with lenses thicker than their fingers.

Girls like her.

 _Rules of society, folks. Looks can only take you so far, but at this stage in life..._

Maru chose a seat that wasn't taken in the second last row.

 _Looks mean everything. Especially power._

Everyone was inside within a few minutes, and Maru noted that Hinata and his black-haired friend (Maru presumed him to be 'Kageyama' due to him being called 'Bakageyama') had chosen seats next to each other at the back. Kageyama sat in the last row by the window while Hinata sat next to him in the middle section.

Right behind her.

"Hi, are you new?" Hinata asked her. "I've never seen you before. Well, other than before..."

"Hm?" Maru turned her body halfway in her chair so that she faced him. "Yes, I am."

"Cool! I'm Hinata Shouyo, nice to meet you."

She nodded shortly. "Nice to meet you."

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

Maru turned back to face the front. "You'll find out when the teacher makes the class do introductions."

"I guess..." Sensing that she didn't really want to talk anymore, Hinata struck up a conversation with Kageyama about volleyball of all things.

 _Volleyball,_ Maru silently mused, _That's a fun game. He has good taste._

The teacher arrived and introduced himself as Jinsei-sensei (but asked the kids to call him Jin-sensei). Starting from the front, he called upon the students to introduce themselves one by one, even though most of them were already acquainted from first year.

After 'Minato Akira' introduced himself as a bipolar artist and sat back down, Maru stood up, making sure her face was perfectly blank.

She was far too aware of Hinata's curious gaze burning into her back as she introduced herself to her new classmates and teacher.

"Hi," she said, ignoring the watching eyes of her classmates. "I'm Saito Maru. I'm sixteen years old and I like lizards. Please take care of me." She gave a shallow bow before taking a seat.

"Lizards?" she heard someone mutter, already weirded out by her messy appearance and her introduction.

The introductions went on, Maru tuning out during the rest... until they reached the boy sitting behind her.

"Hinata Shouyo!" Hinata introduced himself, smiling but also squirming a bit nervously under everyone's stares. "Um, ah, I like volleyball, meat buns, shonen manga, and Kageyama is my best friend...!"

Kageyama was the last to be introducing himself. "I'm Kageyama Tobio and I like volleyball. My dream right now is to play in nationals again."

Jinsei let his students talk among themselves for a few minutes before class officially began so that they could get a feel for each other.

"Saito-san?" Hinata tapped her shoulder.

She turned, staring at him rather intently with her large yellow eyes. Hinata noticed that her eyes were reminiscent of some of the volleyball players in Nekoma: her pupils were slanted slightly.

"Yes?"

"Well, uh, we're going to be seeing each other a lot now, so..." Hinata trailed off, a bit unsure of what to say to her.

"Okay." Maru turned back, having nothing more to say to him. _I wonder how Levi and Bean are doing? They must be excited for lunchtime. I packed a jar of crickets in my bag just for them._

* * *

"Shouyo!" Once again, Miku glomped her boyfriend when he and Kageyama came out of the classroom to eat lunch before heading to volleyball practice.

"Hey, watch it," Kageyama muttered when Hinata nearly slammed into him. _Looks like she's sitting with us... again._ Kimura Miku wasn't a bad person per se, but Kageyama would be lying to himself if he thought that she wasn't annoying at times. _Does Hinata ever feel like that when Sumire's around?_

Ah, Makoshima Sumire, an interesting specimen indeed. She and Kageyama had been seeing each other since last year, having met after fighting over the last packet of potato flavored potato chips at a twenty four hour mart. They'd gotten off a rocky start but managed to make it through the months without strangling each other to death, so that was good, right? She was a third year attending Kitagawa Daiichi, but she frequently (see: every day) commuted to Karasuno to have lunch and practice volleyball with Hinata and Kageyama.

Miku... was nearly the exact opposite of Sumire. He couldn't really explain how, but she just was. Miku was loud, warm, and friendly to everyone. Sumire was quiet (most of the time), cold, and aloof when it came to interacting with people she didn't know very well.

Maybe if it was just his preference for girls that led him to be irritated by Miku's behavior at times. She could get a bit... clingy.

"Can I sit with you today?" Miku asked, hanging onto Hinata's arm. "My friends are studying in the library for midterms already and it's only the first day!"

"Sure, but studying already?! Your friends must be really smart!"

"I know right?! Oh, can you do that quick set thing with Kageyama-kun again?! It's so cool and when you jump up and go _bwah_ , and _gah_!" Miku made a number of smacking motions with her arm to get her point across, speaking at a hundred miles per hour.

Kageyama nearly snorted in disbelief. _Those two are made for each other. Two boundless balls of energy..._

Hinata agreed to Miku's request and the three headed outside to their usual lunch spot near the vending machines. Hinata and Miku sat down first and Kageyama went over to his drink machine, considering his options. He inserted his yen and was about to do his signature double-button press when a third hand snaked below his arm and pressed a totally different and irrelevant button.

"Oi!" Kageyama turned to glare at Sumire, who was grinning as she watched a fizzy soda roll down the machine and be collected by Kageyama.

"Thank you, Tobio, I was feeling extremely thirsty," Sumire said, snatching the soda from him.

"Don't you have a roller coaster to be banned from?" he said sardonically, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Don't you have some tree branches to walk into?" she shot back, crossing her arms. "I'll buy your milk for you, by the way. I'm not a total asshole." She inserted the amount of yen needed to by some strawberry milk and gave the carton to him.

"I could have wanted a different flavor," Kageyama told her as they both cracked open their drinks, Sumire chugging down about half of the soda in one go. "... Fatass."

"I have a few more years left in me before I have to actively watch what I eat, so shut it. Let me enjoy what little time I have left, bastard."

"Forget that, you're going to get cavities from all the sugar you consume, you fucking dumbass."

"Hey! I brush every night! Stupid Bakageyama..."

He shoved her to the side, making her stumble and glare at him.

Then they both sat along the little brick wall with Miku and Hinata.

"Hi, Sumire-chan!" Miku greeted with a smile. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Sumire returned politely. "What about you? Are you and Hinata in the same class?"

Miku rubbed the back of her head and laughed. "I wish! We're all second years now... we're going to have to study pretty hard."

"Noya and Tanaka never study," Hinata pointed out. "And they're doing okay... I think."

"Hinata, do you _really_ think you should be following their example?" Sumire inquired dryly, Kageyama silently agreeing with her. His mother had been making him hit the books lately in order to improve his terrible grades. "If—no, at this rate, it's _when_ —they flunk their college entrance exams, you'll be forced to open your third eye."

Hinata grinned and laughed sheepishly. "Heh, well..."

"Oh, Shouyo, our classes have clean up duty this afternoon," Miku suddenly remembered, a gleam in her eye.

"Do we? I haven't checked the board."

Miku cleared her throat. "Y-yeah, uh... can we go this way for a sec?" She got up and yanked Hinata away by the arm, the orange-haired boy yelping at the sudden change of momentum.

"Five hundred yen says that they're taking the next step in their relationship," Sumire suddenly blurted.

"You're on," Kageyama immediately agreed. "Want to practice receiving with me?"

Sumire flinched away from him, sweatdropping. "Eh?! Again? The bruises on my arms have bruises...!"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Changed the names of the lizards to Levi and Bean. My god, I put a bunch of references in this...**_


	3. The Incident

_Hinata Shouyo, be my household slave._

— _Saito "Maru" Maruichi_

* * *

"Ah... nom." Maru smiled as she watched Levi crunch on the head of a cricket. "Are you enjoying your lunch, Levi? Make sure to save some for Bean. I would hate for your friendship to be ruined over some crickets."

Levi stared back at her, ceasing his chewing for the meantime. Maru was currently sitting in the closet and eating lunch with her best friends, Levi and Bean. Though people hardly ever walked through the corridor the closet was situated in, she made sure to keep her voice low anyway.

Bean waddled up next to Levi and chewed on one of the legs of Levi's cricket, his eyes pointing two different directions. Levi yanked his meal away from Bean, seemingly enraged by the other lizard's boldness.

"Don't fight, don't fight," Maru chided, fishing another cricket out of her jar and dropping it into the tank, the cricket landing in front of Bean. "There's enough for the both of you." She picked up her bento from the floor and resumed eating. "I'm glad to see that you're enjoying your lunch," Maru continued through a mouthful of food. "At least you don't have to deal with the convenience store crap." She sighed. "At least it gets me fed, am I right? We should never take food for granted." Her mouth started to water. "But, oh, what I wouldn't do for a sweet roast potato right now...!"

If lizards had sweat glands, Maru was sure that her friends would have sweatdropped at her cravings.

"Don't look at me like that!" Maru jabbed a finger at the glass tank, where Bean was still looking in two different directions. "I don't care if it makes me fat, let me enjoy culinary, dammit!"

Levi merely crunched his cricket in response.

"You two are so infuriating," Maru groaned, putting her bento and chopsticks down and clutching her hair. "Remind me why I put up with you again? Oh, yeah, because you're the only ones who put up with me." She leaned back against the closet door. "You know, I remember watching this anime where the animals a guy took good care of returned as humans to serve him." Maru flicked the tank, chuckling. "Man, that's pretty silly..."

Even as she dismissed the idea, the thought of Levi and Bean dying and reincarnating as humans flooded her thoughts. She envisioned Levi as a perpetually angry middle-aged man who had trouble with sharing while Bean was a cross-eyed glutton who always left the toilet seat up. Vases would be smashed, fists would fly, the shower curtain (which had a cute lizard pattern printed on it) would be torn off...

Maru began to sweat, though she continued to smile at her beloved pets. _Yeesh, I might be lonely, but I hope that doesn't happen..._

Levi and Bean began to paw at the glass as they ran their tongues over their eyes, expecting to be fed more. From where she was sitting, Maru thought that they looked like frustrated drunks getting tossed out of a bar. Maru sweatdropped even more, her lips forming a thin line. _I sure hope that... they don't show up as a wife beater... that'd be a problem. And I wouldn't want to lay a finger on them either so it's always going to be me losing...!_

She glared at her lizards. "Dammit, you two, you both have me wrapped around your little webbed toes and you know it! Shame on you for exploiting me like this!"

They stared at her through the glass.

"D-don't look at me like that! What's with those patronizing looks, huh?! I can see it written all over your little faces; ' _oh, she must be pretty darn lonely if she keeps talking to us_ '!"

Levi and Bean continued to stare.

Maru heaved a sigh and dropped two more crickets into their tank. "Oh, who am I kidding... the world's a lonely place. When you die, I'll probably die too. Because I don't have anything else to live for." She sat up straighter. "At least, that's what I _would_ say if I didn't like breathing so much. When you're gone, I'll probably find something else to do. I already plan to invest in video games and manga for the rest of my life. Especially the fighting ones like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. It's the closest I'll ever get to being out in the ring again." She shook her head firmly. "Not that I want to, of course! I left that behind me. I'm just an otaku loser who lives alone now! Simple as that."

Bean's tongue slapped over his eye.

Maru smiled, her eyes shining behind her glasses as the sunlight trickling in from the high window warmed her face. "I knew you'd understand..."

* * *

"Ahhh, this sucks," Hinata grumbled as he swept up some garbage that had spilled in the hall, pouring the waste into a garbage bag. After school clean up duty was always a drag, especially when one had club activities. _The first day of school should never be so boring..._

He entered a classroom, where a few kids were scrubbing the windows with vigor. Hinata glanced up at the clock at the front of the room. _It's nearly time. I wonder what Miku wants?_

After dragging him away from Kageyama and Sumire, Miku had proceeded to tell him to meet her at the furthest corridor on the third year's floor, where hardly anyone went. It led to a dead end and there was only a single closet used for storing cleaning supplies.

So taking his broom and bag with him, he made his way upstairs to the third year's floor, nearly hitting Kageyama in the face with the broom when the setter was going down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Kageyama asked, turning his head. "We're supposed to be cleaning our own floor, not the third year's." _What is he up to...?_ "You might get in trouble if a teacher catches you."

"I know that, Bakageyama," Hinata snapped, sounding a bit jittery. "I'm supposed to be meeting Miku up here and..." He gulped. "What if she wants to break up with me or something? Besides, what were you doing up there?"

"Oh, no, we are not going to have this conversation," Kageyama told him, frowning. "And for your information, I was doing an errand for a teacher. Don't get in trouble and get banned from practice or I'll kick your short ass!"

"Erk!" Hinata straightened. "Right...!" _Better not run into Tanaka or Noya. Wherever they go, teachers are there too since they usually get into trouble..._

Within minutes, he managed to dodge the teachers and make it to the secluded corridor, which was completely bare, save for the closet. _Where's Miku?_ He wandered around for a bit before noticing that the closet door had an 'out of order' sign stuck on it. He sweatdropped. _What kind of closet goes out of order?_

Cautiously, he rapped his knuckles on the door, not really expecting any reply.

"Shouyo?" Miku's muffled voice came from inside the closet. "Is that you?"

"Eh? Miku?" Hinata opened the door, blinking in surprise when he saw his girlfriend sitting down on the floor, leaning against a few boxes. She smiled nervously at him.

"Oh, phew, I thought you were someone else for a sec. Close the door behind you."

Intrigued and more than a little be confused, Hinata did as she told, the door closing behind him with a click. "Miku...?"

"Shouyo," Miku blurted, a pink blush entering her cheeks. "I... um... we've kissed before, yeah?"

It was his turn to blush. "W-well, yeah... did you not like it something?! B-because I can try harder—"

Miku laughed, a bit of the tension dispersing from her posture. "No, no, nothing like that!" She lowered her gaze. "I was just wondering... would you like to take it up to the next level?"

"Next," Hinata squeaked, "level...?" _Is she trying to say that she wants to have se_ — _?!_

"Erk!" Miku flushed even more. "You thought of something x-rated, didn't you? I mean to say that... do you want to try... tongue?" _There, I said it! Ahh, how embarrassing...!_

"I-I," Hinata stammered, struggling to maintain eye contact with her. Before he knew it, he said, "Suh-sure!" _What do I do?! How does that work?! I don't know how to do this! Why did I agree?!_

"Umm, just saying, I don't really know what to do... I've never done anything like this before," Miku admitted shyly, "But I... really like you, Shouyo. So..." She leaned forward, feeling the warmth he was emitting as their faces neared. "Here it goes..."

Hinata's breath hitched just before Miku's lips captured his, her tongue probing his lips. Shakily, he parted his lips, allowing her entrance. _This... this is so weird...!_ But it wasn't a bad feeling either. He could get used to it. He squeezed his eyes shut and kissed her back, a tad more aggressive this time. Yes, this wasn't so bad. He could really, really, get used to it.

He lifted his arms and brought Miku close, wrapping his arms around her waist so that she half-sat on his lap. Blushing furiously, he sucked on her tongue, eliciting a slight moan from her.

Damn, this was getting heated. If something didn't happen soon—

To their absolute horror, the door swung open, light flooding the closet.

Smiling, Maru stepped in, somehow missing the couple as she declared, "Mommy's here— _guh_!" She choked on her words as she finally saw them, their mouths still attached. Slack-jawed, she closed the door behind her, knowing that they would all get in trouble if she garnered unwanted attention.

Hinata lurched away from Miku, both of them red-faced.

"I can explain!" they cried at the same time.

Maru crossed her arms, frowning. "No need. You're young and you're in love. I've read enough shoujo manga to know that. What you want to know, however... is whether I'll keep your secret right?"

"We'll do anything!" Miku whined, bowing her head.

"Anything reasonable," Hinata amended. "Please don't tell on us...!" _Gwaaahhh! Embarrassing! So, so shameful!_ It was mere luck that it hadn't been a teacher that had discovered them. Unable to look Maru in the eye, he pushed his face into his hands, blushing furiously.

Maru watched them with calculating eyes that were somewhat hidden from the reflection off her lenses. _Interesting. I hold all the cards right now. What could I make them do, I wonder...?_ "Are either of you any good with housework?" she asked, thinking of the piles and piles of moldy, dirty dishes in her kitchen sink. _... Disgusting. And I never dust either. No wonder I got sick last week from all the house dust._ She was still sneezing from it, actually.

"Sorry, but I come from a rich family..." Miku admitted. "I don't really know how to do chores."

"What about you?" Maru turned to Hinata. _Him again... if this were a manga, it would almost be like we were fated to meet. Something's familiar about him too._ A troll-like smirk made its way up her face. _A childhood friend from my dark and troubled past! Fuhahaha! How funny would that be?_

"Eh? I guess. I mean, I help my okaa-chan with housework—"

"Good," Maru cut him off, "because from now on, you're my household slave."

Hinata stared at her. "Wh-what?!"

"Hold up!" Miku raised a finger. "How do we know you'll actually keep our secret?"

"Simple." Maru moved further into the closet, moving some cleaning supplies out of the way to remove her lizards. This probably wasn't the best move as it meant she no longer held all the cards, but she wanted them to trust her at the very least. "This is Levi and Bean. I'm their mother and their best friend. Say hi, guys."

Levi stared outside while Bean slapped his eyes with his tongue as if he were playing the bongos.

Miku flinched, disgusted by the small creatures. "Eeww...!" _I can't believe Shouyo and I were making out in the same space as those things!_

"Ooh," Hinata leaned close to the tank, "hi, Levi and Bean, I'm Hinata Shouyo. It's nice to meet you."

"Now you know a secret of mine too," Maru said matter-of-factly. "Does that satisfy you? Hinata Shouyo, be my household slave."

"D-don't say things like that so weirdly!" Hinata told her, thinking that she was envisioning him in some maid costume (he wouldn't be far off).

"I'll tell everyone about this if you don't," Maru answered coolly. "And I don't care if you tell the dean about my sons either."

Miku frowned at her. "You can't do this—"

"You said you'd do anything," Maru reminded her. "And I want him," she pointed at Hinata, "to help me around the house a bit. Is that so much to ask?"

"Miku, it's okay," Hinata reassured her. _It can't be that bad. She probably just wants me to vacuum or something._ He steeled himself. "I'll do it! You can count on me."

"Good. I'll see you after volleyball practice at the front gates then." She started to walk out the door after grabbing her lizard tank and throwing a cloth over it (which she had removed from her backpack when they weren't looking).

"Wait!" Hinata called after her, "How did you know about practice?"

"Because I pay attention to things," Maru replied simply before stepping out and disappearing from the door frame.


	4. Sexy BL Manga! Titan's Clash! Oh no!

_Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you._

— _Friedrich Nietzsche_

* * *

 _I cannot believe I just did that,_ Maru thought as she wandered aimlessly down the corridor, unsure of what to do now. _What was I thinking? On the bright side, it means that my lungs might actually clear up and I won't have to eat shit for breakfast and dinner every day._

Suddenly, she felt her shoe hit something and she looked down to see a fallen manga on the floor. Curious, she picked it up, not recognizing the cover. Which was weird, because she was pretty well versed in all mainstream manga and anime and more.

"Let's see, _Don't Touch Me_...? This already sounds suspicious," Maru muttered, sweatdropping. She adjusted her grip on her lizard tank with one arm so that the tank was nestled in the crook of her elbow. Using her other hand, she flipped through the book. "Eh, it's not that ba— _oh my god, my eyes!_ " Flustered, Maru dropped her book, the image burned into her mind.

She chuckled to herself, "Oh, of course it had to be hardcore yaoi rape smut... of course it did!" _What has been seen can never be unseen._ "What the heck, though? Isn't it against the rules to bring x-rated manga to school?" _I should probably leave it alone..._

But wait! What if a teacher found it? And they... they scanned it for fingerprints?! She'd be doomed! Hastily, she picked up the manga and shoved it down her her shirt so that it nestled between her breasts, her bra stopping it from falling. _Oh my god, this feels so, so wrong! It probably looks like I have a triangular onigiri hidden in my bra!_

Maru was going to continue her aimless wandering when a voice called out to her, "Hey, you!"

Maru turned back stiffly, forcing herself to look cool and composed. "Yes?"

The girl who had called out to her seemed to have a perpetual scowl on her face. Her hair was styled in a bob cut with messily cut bangs and an ahoge sticking out from the crown of her head. "Have you by any chance seen any... naughty manga around?"

 _I knew it! I'm doomed! I'll be charged for possessing adult material!_ "No, why?" Maru stared at her.

When she asked why, the girl immediately clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "Oohhh, I'll tell you why! Because my jerkass friend thinks it's okay to keep abusing her position as a Student Representative and bring adult doujinshi to class! Did you know she swapped my world history textbook with her own doujinshi? She is absolutely unbelievable and—"

Slowly, Maru started to shuffle away. This girl was obviously akin to a burnt out entertainer and it was probably best to avoid her as much as possible.

"—now she's littering the halls with her yaoi shit! Do you know what would happen if she got caught? She could get arrested, or even worse, _expelled_!"

Maru left the girl in the hallway to rant, entering a bathroom and hoping for the best that she wouldn't be followed. She closed the bathroom door behind her quietly and turned.

"W-what? Urinals?!" _Fucking fuck, I'm in the boys' bathroom!_

She was about to leave when the door opened, causing her to freeze in horror. _No, I can't let this happen!_ Grunting, she pushed back against the door with all her might.

"What the hell?!" the boy on the other side of the door yelled, knocking. "Let me in, you bastard!"

"Hah!" Maru barked a laugh, sounding masculine enough to pass for a teenage boy. _Bastard, huh? If only they knew..._

The boy started to insult her non-existent masculinity and Maru heaved a sigh. _... Only this would happen to me. You don't see this happening to anyone else, now do you?_ An angry vein popped on her cheek. _There are ANIME and MANGA characters out there that live through less ridiculous situations! So why does this happen to me, HUH?!_

Soon, the boy stopped trying to fight against her and Maru breathed another sigh, this time in relief. _Still... I should be more careful. What if he's waiting for me to come out?_ Her eyes flitted to a window above on of the urinals. _Hmm..._

Outside the bathroom, Tanaka Ryuunosuke was stalking back and forth in front of the door, wondering if the bastard inside would ever come out. Probably not, he concluded. He'd just have to kick the door open and take on the punk himself.

"Hmm? Tanaka, you're still here?" Tsukishima and Yamaguchi approached him, the both of them carrying water bottles in their hands.

"There's some dickhead blocking the door inside!" Tanaka growled, jabbing a thumb at the closed door. "I've been trying to get in but they're pretty strong..."

"Let's try together then," Yamaguchi suggested, and the three of them pushed against the door at once. It opened easily, much to their surprise.

Tsukishima smirked. "I think you're getting soft in your old age, Tanaka—" He cut himself off when all three of them beheld the oddest sight. A girl—they didn't know who as her back was facing them—was attempting to escape via the high window, a tank with a cloth draped over it sitting on the window. She was lean enough that she would be able to fit in the tiny space without knocking the tank over.

But the most awkward fact was that, in her climb, her skirt was hiked up way past her thighs, displaying in clear sight the lizard-printed panties she was wearing. Having heard them barging in, the girl stiffly turned her head, her face a mask of shameful horror.

"What," Tsukishima deadpanned, trying to ignore the fact that his face was reddening just as fast as Yamaguchi's and Tanaka's.

"I-I," she stammered, her humongous glasses nearly slipping off her nose. Alarmed by their presence, she scrambled up the wall, but not before something—a book?—dropped out of her shirt and into one of the urinals. She swore loudly but didn't seem to regret its fall as she climbed through the window, collected her tank, and jumped out the other side. "Oof!"

"Wait, we're on the second floor!" Tanaka suddenly remembered. "Did she just—?!" They all hurried to the window, and Tsukishima found that this was one of the rare times where he had to stand on his toes to peer over something.

"She's gone," Tsukishima reported, sounding a little dumbfounded himself. _She jumped out of a two storey window. What the actual fuck?_

Yamaguchi was visibly relieved. "At least she's okay... What was she doing in here though?"

"That's what I want to know," said Tanaka, Tsukishima nodding slightly in agreement. "And how did she hold up the door against me?" He looked down at the book in the urinal and picked it up.

"That's disgusting," Tsukishima said snidely.

But Tanaka waved off his comment. "Oi, shut up, it'll be fine. Five second rule."

"Isn't that only for food?" Yamaguchi pointed out. _Then again, it's not like we're going to be eating the book..._ To him, it looked to be some sort of light novel. It wasn't surprising—nowadays, light novels were mostly targeted at the adolescent female demographic.

" _Don't Touch Me_ ," Tanaka read aloud, looking a bit alarmed.

"Trust me, I have no plans to do anything of the sort," Tsukishima said, a small smirk on his face.

Tanaka made one of his faces at the blonde before flipping through the book and considerably paling. Then he snapped it shut and tossed it in the air for Tsukishima to catch, feeling a bit disgusted at himself for doing so. That book had been in a _urinal_ for crying out loud!

"Read at your own risk," Tanaka merely said before making himself scarce and leaving the two second years to their own devices. He looked like he had just been through a nuclear war or something.

"Here." Tsukishima passed it to Yamaguchi. "Tell me if it's that bad."

Yamaguchi blushed. "If this is about the one time that you caught me doing—"

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "Just open it. I'm sure Tanaka was just overreacting."

Hesitantly, Yamaguchi opened the book and skimmed through it, understanding passing through his eyes. "Ah. Now I get why Tanaka-senpai was so... uh..."

 _Traumatized?_ Tsukishima thought to himself. _Great, now I want to know what it is._ From what he could tell, it was a manga. His brother had been an avid manga collector back in his middle school days and had owned seemingly every single shonen manga back in his time. _It doesn't look like the sort that he would read though._ Then again, it had fallen out of a girl's shirt (god, that thought made him want to wash his hands of it right away), so that was probably why. "Give it here." He took back the manga booklet from Yamaguchi, ignoring his protests and warnings.

"I'm telling you, Tsukki, it's really not something we should be looking at... I'm only comfortable with it because my sister is a fujoshi."

"Rotten girl?" Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at him before opening the book to take a peek. "And you wonder why she complains about you."

"Ack! Tsukki, no—"

It was too late.

Looking a bit sickly, Tsukishima closed the book and threw it back in the urinal, where he felt it belonged. "We're leaving."

When they disappeared, one of the stalls in the bathroom creaked opened, revealing a girl sitting on the toilet (for those who were more modest about doing their business or perhaps doing a number two).

She smirked. "Excellent... more material!" She quickly sketched something in her notebook before getting off the toilet and collecting the doujinshi that _she_ had created. "Ah, my poor doujinshi... the blonde one would definitely be the dominant one in the relationship. But baldy was pretty loud too. Oh! A polyamorous relationship, yep, yep..."

The girl paused in her nonsensical doodling. "Who was that girl though? I've never seen her before..."

Kawashima Nagisa chuckled darkly to herself before exiting the boy's bathroom. _Inspiration has struck for this self-published artist/author! I bet I'll make it big in the next comic con! Maybe I can even get it sold at Madjaster!_

* * *

Sumire set the ball up high for Hinata in a first tempo attack. _Aha! Finally, a perfect set...! Tobio, are you watching this? Because_ —

And Hinata flubbed the attack, nearly crashing into the net from his momentum.

The ball rolled away and Sumire hung her head.

Of course when the ball would actually go her way for once, Hinata would completely stuff up the spike and she would be unable to bask in his reflected glory.

"Sorry, Sumire!" Hinata apologized, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I wasn't paying much attention..."

"Ah, it's fine," she waved him off, "just be glad Tobio wasn't watching or he would have kicked your ass for that." That had been the last spiking drill of the day. Some of the team were already packing up and the net was going to be taken down soon.

Hinata chuckled. "Yeah..."

Soon, the net was taken down and the team started to head down to Sakanoshita for some meat buns. But when they passed the school gate, Hinata stopped there.

"Eh?" Ennoshita, the captain, turned back. "Hinata, aren't you coming?"

"Yeah, come on, you love meat buns!" Nishinoya added.

"I have to do something for someone, sorry," Hinata said amiably, leaning against the wall.

 _Does this have anything to do with Miku not showing up at practice today?_ Sumire wondered as they all left the orange-haired boy behind. She said as much to Kageyama.

"They were supposed to meeting during clean up," Kageyama informed her. "I'm not sure if they ever got to, though."

"Huh, that's weird..."

Hinata waited for three minutes before one Saito Maru finally showed her face, looking a bit stricken. But she relaxed when she saw him there, as if he could magically solve all of her problems.

"Ah, good, you're here," Maru said approvingly, grinning. Strange, she'd never been this expressive with him when they weren't alone. "I hope you're ready."

"Yes ma'am!" Hinata said, enthusiastic despite everything.

"First things first, we're going shopping so you can cook me dinner," Maru ordered. "I know a cheap twenty four hour mart not far from here, so let's go."

"Right!"

* * *

"Chicken... katsu... curry?" Hinata echoed as they entered the twenty four hour mart.

"Can you cook it or not?" Maru demanded as they wandered through the aisles, the girl taking time to sift through the snacks. "Hmm... potato flavored potato chips... Does that mean it's unseasoned? I thought all chips were made from potato. That's like saying that a tomato is tomato flavored."

"Ehm..." Hinata sweatdropped. _She has a point thought._

"Ah, whatever." Maru waved a hand at him. "Go get some chicken katsu. I'll find the curry sauce." _Huehuehue... extra spicy! I hope you can stand your spice, Hinata Shouyo, because you're going to be the taste tester!_

They didn't spend long in the shop and exited fairly quickly. It was then Maru heard a noise coming from the side and forced Hinata to take her lizard tank plus all the plastic bags which were filled with snacks as well as ingredients. "Wait here. Don't move. Your master commands you."

"Master?" Hinata glared at her. "O-oi, I'm not your dog okay?"

"You might as well be. Down, boy."

Hinata spluttered and Maru smiled. "Don't be like that," she told him, "I'll be back soon. I think I hear some small time gangsters calling my name though."

"Hah?! Gangsters?! Are you some kind of delinquent?! And I wasn't talking about that! I'm not your dog, Saito-san!" Hinata huffed and puffed out his cheeks indignantly.

 _... Cute_ , Maru thought with a small blush. _He would make a cute puppy._ She pouted. _Much cuter than Levi and Bean!_ Then she shook her head. _Ahhh, who am I kidding, Levi and Bean are cuter! Eek!_

Maru glanced around the alleyway to see five men ganging up on two girls. One looked terrified and was clutching what seemed to be a notebook to her chest while the other remained composed. The scared looking one was wearing the same uniform as Maru while the black-haired composed one was wearing an Aobajosai uniform (at least that was what Maru thought it was).

"I'll ask you one more time," the black-haired girl said coolly. "Leave us."

"We will as soon as you give us your money!" sneered one of the men. Now that Maru got a better look at them, she could see that they were in their early twenties. High school dropouts, most likely. She resolved to never end up like them, even if she ran out of money to fund her otaku habits.

"Oya?" Maru called out. "What's going on over here?" She swaggered up to the men and sidled next to the black-haired girl so that she was seemingly cornered as well. "Hello, gangsters."

"We're not gangsters!" one of the men protested. "Look, all we want is your money, okay? We'll leave you alone if you just give us your damn money!"

The black-haired girl gave her a sideways glance. "You do realize you just endangered yourself, right?"

"I can handle myself," Maru said, looking her up and down. She wasn't very impressive looking, being short and rather on the skinny side. Maru towered over her by a good five inches. But... "I think you can too. Kenpo?"

The shorter girl nodded, her interested piqued. "And you?"

Maru smirked, feeling her blood boil at the prospect of a challenge. "Muay Thai, mostly. And a little bit of some other styles."

The other girl who was still clutching her notebook peered around them nervously. "I don't mean to cut you two off, but could you hurry up and beat them up? I don't have any money but what if they steal my precious doujinshi?!"

Scoffing, the black-haired girl shifted into a stance, Maru simply standing with her hands in her blazer pockets.

Two of the men went for the shorter girl but she quickly evaded them so that they ended up beating each other. She then proceeded to kick one in the gut and recovered quickly enough to sucker-punch the other.

The remaining three men charged at Maru. Yawning, she grabbed the lid of a trash can and slammed it into his face hard enough to knock a tooth out. The man swore and fell to the floor. Maru made quick work of the other men, kicking them both in the stone wall of the opposite building.

"Sheesh," Maru said, "I wonder which one of you is the lucky one."

"L-lucky?" coughed one of them.

"I don't like your voice," Maru told him, looking bored. Then she drove her heel into his crotch, relishing in his screams of pain. _Ho hum, I've forgotten how good it feels to make an opponent scream..._

She continued to torture him but kicking him repeatedly in that sensitive area, smiling widely as she did so.

"Hey, stop that!" the black-haired girl shouted at her, frowning in disapproval. She had made quick work of the other two men, having knocked them unconscious. Her method of disposing of them was quick, clean, and efficient. "You've won already. What's the point of beating up an opponent weaker than you?"

Maru nearly sneered. Ah, so she was one of those more traditional, _honor_ types. "Don't be ridiculous." She picked up man she had hurt by the shirt collar and drew her fist back, ready to pound his head into the wall. "The point... is because it's fun."

"Eep!" The girl with the notebook cringed and closed her eyes.

Maru's fist stopped just an inch from the man's face. Scowling, she whipped her head to the side to see that Naoko had grabbed her wrist in a vice grip. _Frick... she's stronger than I expected._

"I told you to fucking stop," the black-haired girl snarled, "Just leave it."

"Fuck off," Maru sneered, shoving her back. "Don't make me fight you."

She raised an eyebrow. "At this point, it seems inevitable."

Taking her words a challenge, Maru let go of the man, letting him slump against the wall, moaning in agony. "A fight it is then. But first, I would like to know your name."

"Hey, uh, can we please not fight?" said the girl with the notebook, twisting her ponytail nervously. "That'd be... pretty bad."

"Makoshima Naoko," the raven-haired girl gladly gave it to her, "and you are?"

"Just call me Saito Maru."

"Hey, Saito-san, what are you doing?"

Both girls snapped to attention at the new voice. Maru blinked when she saw Hinata holding her lizard tank and the groceries. "Hin... Hinata."

"Were you about to get into a street fight?" Hinata fretted, noticing the bodies. "Crap, I'm too late..."

"Wait!" Maru turned her back on Naoko, giving her a glance before walking to Hinata. "It's okay, Hinata, let's just go home."

"H-huh? But you were about to—"

"Home, Hinata."

Naoko watched them silently as they disappeared into the sunset, frowning. _Saito Maru... I won't forget you. We're enemies now._ "Hey, sorry about that," she apologized impassively to a shaky Kawashima Nagisa. "Those men didn't do anything to you before I got here, did they?"

"A-aha, no, thanks..."

"Good. Go home then."

Then she was gone too, leaving Nagisa with only the company of her trusty notebook. The girl proceeded to burst out in squealing laughter. "Oh my gosh, more material! This edition's category: yuri gang love and turf war!"

* * *

 _ **A/N: And so two protagonists meet...**_

 _ **PhantomSeekerz255: Don't like Miku? Welp, she's a recurring character, soo... xP But is she a villain? :o**_

 _ **I honestly made a bunch of references here again... there was even an Animal Jam reference in there.**_


	5. Dominoes

_So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness._

— _Sidney Poitier_

* * *

 _April 5_

 _I met someone interesting today. It wasn't the most ideal circumstances, but I went out on a limb and managed to secure my very own house elf, minus the ears, tea cloth, and tendency to inflict self-punishment._

 _His name is Hinata Shouyo and he has an old face. Not the wrinkly kind, but the kind that makes you think that you've known him your whole life. He exudes a similar aura as well, and were he not a stranger, I might actually be comfortable enough to talk to him like I would to Levi and Bean._

 _Does that make me a bad person for exploiting someone to do my housekeeping? Yes. But I don't care. Being a good person is overrated anyway. If I were a good person... I don't think I would be sitting here writing this journal entry. I'd be in a box six feet underground or floating down the Abukuma River._

 _I am not a good person. I am a very, very bad person. Would it make sense to say that the shittier you become, the better you get at hiding that fact?_

 _How..._

 _Amusing._

 _Thats enough of that for now, but expect further rants and rambles and general going off the tangent._

 _When we got back to my house, the first thing Hinata did was bombard me with questions, which was to be expected. He had walked right in the middle of a warzone. That other girl... Makoshima Naoko... we were about to fight. Had he not showed up, we would have._

 _Apparently, he knew her. He's good friends with her younger sister, I recall him saying. He asked me questions... and I answered none of them._

 _He cooked dinner for me that night, though I could basically taste his begrudged attitude in the food. Nevertheless, that kid could consider a career in the culinary arts._

 _Hinata Shouyo was a lot more colder to me that night than I would have expected of him. I guess that's only natural._

 _I'm responsible for taking away his free will._

 _What a heinous act._

 _Ha. Ha._

* * *

Maru rubbed her finger against the plate on the drying rack, checking for smudges. Hinata had done a pretty good job of washing up after her, even if he had scrubbed the dirty dishes in the bathroom sink. But there were still stacks and stacks of unwashed bowls and plates clogging the two kitchen sinks and stinking up the whole area.

Maru sneezed, rubbing her nose. _Ah, geez. The house dust is getting worse. If I fall sick again, I'll have to see a doctor for sure this time..._

Her uniform blouse was tousled and unironed, her blazer skewed and her skirt wrinkly. She scrunched up her nose at her reflection on the microwave lid, pushing up her round glasses.

 _Yeah,_ she thought, _I think I'm ready for school._

She was forced to leave Levi and Bean home today, air-kissing them goodbye and promising them that she would bring them to school as soon as she found a safe hiding place. Obviously, the janitor's closet in the secluded third year corridor wasn't going to cut it anymore.

At school, Maru went straight to her locker and changed her shoes, glancing at her watch in regular intervals. She still had about an hour to kill until classes began. Since clubs were compulsory at Karasuno, there were fewer students than usual milling about the hallways, most of them attending early morning practice (in the case of sports clubs) or meetings (in the case of culture clubs). She still had to pick a club before this afternoon.

"Oh, hey, it's you," a voice said, an another girl sidled up next to her, nonchalantly placing her outdoor shoes inside her locker and putting on her indoor shoes. "Sorry if I scared you the other day. I was just majorly pissed, and I swear it wasn't directed at you."

 _Scared?_ Maru resisted the urge to snort. The girl—the one that had forced her into hiding in the boy's bathroom yesterday—hardly posed a threat to her. But she'd be lying if she didn't admit that the girl could be just a wee bit terrifying with her rage quits, which Maru guessed was a frequent occurrence considering how blasé she was being about the whole thing.

"That's fine," Maru said politely, not really feeling up to invoking her anger.

"I think my class is next to yours," the girl said after a moment of silence. "I'm Ennoshita Yuuna." Almost awkwardly, she brushed her chocolate brown (a much richer shade of brown than Maru's own mousy locks) short hair back over her shoulder.

"Saito Maru," Maru replied, giving her a shallow nod. "Nice to meet you too." She'd almost been tempted to introduce herself by her actual first name but decided against it at the last second.

Yuuna tilted her head slightly before saying, "Walk with me."

Curious, Maru complied. "Do you... want something from me?"

"Not really, no. I guess it's just nice to have a calming presence around when you have to deal with Kawashima Nagisa twenty four seven... Speaking of, do you maybe want to sit with us at lunch?"

"Eh, really? And Kawashima who?"

Something like amusement flashed in Yuuna's eyes. "You'll find out if you sit with us at lunch." Her gaze dulled as her face reverted into her default expression: a deadpan frown with a hint of thinly veiled disdain. "... You may regret ever tangling with her though."

"I... see." Maru paused. "I'll think about it. You said your classroom is right next to mine, right?"

"Mm..." Yuuna smirked. "I must say, I thought that you would have taken up the offer right away. You're new, aren't you? Which must mean you don't have any friends. So what's your deal?"

"My deal?" Maru raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say that I don't like shallow socializing."

"Well then," Yuuna patted her shoulder, "I think we might actually be great friends."

Maru's eyebrows raised even further. It looked like the verdict had already been reached without her getting a say in anything.

* * *

If Kageyama were a different, kinder person, he might have shot Hinata a look of sympathy as the pair trudged down to class together in their normal school uniforms.

Instead, he bluntly inquired, "What's with you today? You haven't played this bad since..." Kageyama trailed off before finishing, "The beginning of first year."

"Hm? Did you say something?" Hinata turned to him and Kageyama couldn't help but cringe upon noticing the dark bags underneath his eyes. During practice, he'd been too busy focused on other things too really take in Hinata's haggard appearance.

Despite this, Kageyama scowled, shoving the shorter boy. "Oi, when people talk to you, listen." It was something that Iwaizumi had drilled into all of them during middle school, though Kageyama often got carried away when his temper went off the charts. Due to this, he more often than not ended up not paying attention to others trying to speak to him.

"Sorry," Hinata groaned, rubbing his eyes. "I hardly," he yawned, "got any sleep last night..."

"Hn," Kageyama grunted, still vexed. "And why the hell not? Don't tell me you stayed up late playing games or something..."

"Of course not!" Hinata said indignantly. "It was just too hot last night, okay?" In truth, he'd collapsed into bed upon getting back from Maru's, but strange dreams had wormed their way into his head.

"Tch!" Kageyama scoffed as they entered the classroom, the teacher absent. "If it's so hot, then put your blankets away next time."

Hinata knew that this was Kageyama's way of showing that he cared: with advice offered in a rough and coarse manner. He smiled, grateful for his best friend's support. "Thanks, Kageyama."

Hinata tensed as he saw Maru's back facing him, her loose brown hair uncombed and greasy as always.

Kageyama cast him a sideways glance. "What?" He followed his gaze. "What?" he repeated, not seeing why Hinata would choose to show any special interest in Saito Maru of all people.

Hinata puffed out a sigh before grumpily sitting down behind Maru. "Nothing," he said to Kageyama, who gave him a short nod before taking a seat at his own desk by the window. Hinata irrelevantly noted that the class seating arrangement made Kageyama seem like an anime protagonist, unaware that Maru was thinking the exact same thing.

"Hey, Hinata." The boy in question stiffened when Maru turned in her chair, her voice bland, as if she was bored of him. "You have a lot of work ahead of you after school." Then she turned back.

"Right," Hinata muttered, "How could I forget?"

Jin-sensei made his appearance within the next five minutes and class started promptly after that.

* * *

Yuuna clicked her tongue in irritation as Nagisa took out her sketchbook and started scrawling down her ideas for her latest doujinshi.

"That old thing again?" Yuuna sighed. "Just don't touch my history textbook again and you'll be fine, I guess..."

Nagisa peeked up, grinning sheepishly. "Speaking of history... mind if I copy your homework? I didn't do mine."

A tick mark appeared on Yuuna's temple. "Again?! Geez, your hopeless!" Grumbling, she opened up her book in front of Nagisa, ignoring her thanks as she furiously started to copy down Yuuna's completed homework.

"You're part of the problem, you know," said a voice from the left, and Yuuna turned to see Tsukishima Kei looking amused.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Yuuna retorted, feeling her temper bubble as that infuriating smirk played on his lips.

"You're smart," he said flippantly. Dismissively. Yuuna clenched her fists so hard that her nails made little half-moon marks in her palms. "I'm sure you can figure it out in your own."

"Bastard," Yuuna muttered lowly as she turned away from him, deliberately letting him face her back.

Yuuna couldn't help but notice Nagisa's blushing face. _Don't tell me she has a crush on that jerk... even a weirdo like Nagisa could so much better._ But she soon dismissed that possibility when she identified just what kind of look was on her face.

Suddenly, Yuuna felt herself pitying Tsukishima.

The unsuspecting blonde had somehow made himself the apple of Nagisa's eye in the worst way possible: as potential doujinshi material.

Yuuna wondered if there were any others that the fujoshi had caught in her intricately spun webs, absently tapping her fingers as she watched Nagisa hum as she copied the homework answers.

"I got attacked yesterday," Nagisa suddenly blurted, biting her lip. "By five men wanting to rob me."

"Wh-what?!" Yuuna stared at her in disbelief. "How did you get away?"

Nagisa dropped her voice into an even quieter whisper. "Two really scary girls saved me before they tried to fight each other because one thought the other was going too far with beating up the robbers. It's pretty good material if you ask me, but I wouldn't want to go through that again. Anyway, one of them goes to our school but I can't for the life of me remember her name. But I think I've seen her in the classroom next door. Can you come with me so I can thank her?" Nagisa laughed nervously, twirling he ponytail in one hand, sketching in the other. "She's really scary and I kinda don't want to go alone..."

Yuuna rolled her eyes, trying to downplay her relief. "Coward," she said, not meaning anything by it. She stood up. "Fine, let's go—"

"Ack, not now!" Nagisa pulled her sleeve, making her sit again. "Break is nearly over. Why don't we wait until lunchtime, huh?"

Yuuna scowled. "You just want to keep putting it off until the last possible moment, don't you?"

"Am I really that easy to read?"

"Considering we've known each other since diapers, yes."

Lunch came by far too quickly for Nagisa's liking, and Yuuna had to all but drag her down to the classroom next door to find her savior.

"But Yuu-chan!" Nagisa whined, pouting.

"Shut up!" Yuuna snapped as she continued to pull Yuuna by the arm. "You wanted to do this so don't leave me hanging out to dry!"

Nagisa groaned as Yuuna pulled the door opened, her gaze sweeping over the leaving students before she peeked into the room. The teacher was still inside, as was a few students. All of them were male.

"Damn, we must have missed her!" Yuuna exclaimed.

Nagisa shrugged, hope blooming in her chest. "Oh well, I guess I can't apologize anymore—"

Yuuna tugged her arm again and the girls found themselves standing in front of a sandy-haired guy.

"A brown-haired girl, huh?" the boy said, contemplating their inquiry. "There's only one girl tall enough in our class to kick ass... but I can't remember her name. She looks kinda dumpy, actually. Hinata Shouyo sits behind her though, and I see them sometimes talking. If anyone knows, it'll be him."

Yuuna glared at Nagisa. "Why doesn't anyone remember her name? God!"

"Well, _sorry_ for being too hyped up on adrenaline to function!" Nagisa shouted back, pouting again. "Hinata Shouyo... isn't he on the volleyball team?"

"That's right," said the boy before bidding them good day.

"Looks like we know where we should go next then," Yuuna said, taking Nagisa by the arm again. "Come on. Most of the volleyball players start lunch practice about now at the gym."

They found the gym quickly, and heard the squeak of volleyball sneakers against the wooden floor and the bounce of a ball as they pushed the door open.

"Hey, isn't that your brother?" Nagisa pointed to Ennoshita, the captain of the volleyball team.

Yuuna snorted. "Yeah. Okaa-san says that he needs to focus more on his studies than volleyball."

Yuuna really should have known better. It was practically a given for a ball to fly towards two innocent girls when said girls walked into dangerous male territory. She grimaced and bit down a shout when a ball flew towards her head, flinching.

She really would have rather taken the blow than for what happened next to actually happened. Yuuna looked on, mortified, as Nagisa stood in the way... and started doing a strange dance that made Yuuna question her best friend's sanity even more so.

Nagisa performed a series of hand movements. "Magic moon prism power! Make up!" The ball smashed her in the face. "Gyak!"

The boys openly gaped.

Yuuna flushed, embarrassed. They couldn't stay here. Not when she knew that the boys would overreact over Nagisa's ball to the face incident, so she grabbed the fallen Nagisa by the arm and dragged her the hell out of there. Besides, from the lack of orange hair in the gym, she could safely assume that Hinata wasn't there at all.

* * *

Hinata rubbed his eyes and yawned as he pressed a random button on the vending machine, not caring what he got as long as the drink was caffeinated. Some of the third and second years would be at practice (surprisingly, they had gotten no first year entries this year, but it was still early days), and he would join them later. For now, he needed a good wake up call.

"Hey, Hinata-san!" Suddenly, Jin-sensei was next to him and slapping his back and laughing heartily. "You look like you haven't slept in a week!" He leaned in, his glasses flashing under the sun as he held his thumb out in a friendly gesture. "If you got anything to talk about, just remember you can tell me anything, okay?"

Hinata was about to speak when Jin-sensei cut him off with another one of his loud laughs, "Anything as long as it's not about money, that is!"

"Money?" Hinata echoed.

"Eeyup!" Jin-sensei sweatdropped, sighing. "Just between you and me, I'm a total sucker for spending money on frivolous things..."

Hinata tilted his head to one side, curious. "Like what, sensei?"

"Eh..." At that, Jin-sensei laughed again, though it was more of a nervous chuckle this time. "... Strip clubs."

Hinata stared at him. _H-hah? Did he just say... strip clubs?!_

"Yes, that!" Jin-sensei groaned and pushed his face into his hands, rubbing his eyes. "I'm an unmarried thirty year old man, Hinata-san! Give a guy a break, wouldja?"

"S-sorry!" Hinata stammered, flinching away when his teacher grabbed his shoulders to support himself. "Sorry for asking!"

Jin-sensei let go of him and waved his hand flippantly. "Maa maa... let's forget this conversation ever happened, okay?" He inserted his money in the vending machine and picked up a bottle of ice tea. "I've been depressed lately and I say things to students that I shouldn't. Study well!" _Stupid stupid! If you kept talking, you would have ended up telling him that you only pursued a career as a teacher so you could be close (but not too close) to high school girls!_ Despite his affection for high school age girls and his being a closet pervert, Jin-sensei would always maintain professionalism. He wanted to enjoy himself by teaching and observing, not get arrested.

When the man was gone, Hinata sighed in relief, dropping his head to the side in exasperation. "Our school has a lot of interesting people..."

* * *

 _ **A/N: I think it's clear that this story is just going to be filled with randomness; a different tune to Orange City and Kindergarten Bully. But don't get me wrong, things do happen for a reason, just not BIG reasons. Jin-sensei inadvertently revealing to Hinata that he spends his time in strip clubs will come up again in the future.**_

 _ **If you're familiar with my other works, I think you'll probably figure out one thing... GIRLS GIRLS AND MORE GIRLS. Almost every single OC relevant to the plot is female. Because, well, I like girls, and not in the context you are probably thinking about. And as a girl, I relate mostly to other girls, hence the abundance of female characters in my fics. And I'm going to continue this streak by adding Yachi into the main cast as well.**_

 _ **R &R~ (I mean, if you want...)**_

 _ **Also, I'm kind of shit at drawing, but have this on for size...:**_

 _ **https():/ /divinepetal()deviantart()com/art/Naoko-and-Sumire-729171704**_

 _ **Just remove the () and change it to . (except for the one between https and :, just remove the parentheses for that one) and also delete the unnecessary space between / and /**_


	6. Yachi and Stalker-chan

_I like the word 'indolence'. It makes my laziness seem classy._

— _Bernard Williams_

* * *

Yachi yawned as she stripped from her school uniform in the girl's change rooms, mindful to stay a distance away from the other girls so she wouldn't bother them too much. She had stayed up late last night completing some last minute homework, having accidentally forgotten it.

"Hey, Yaachan," a girl said to her, pulling her sports shirt over her head. "Any idea what sport we're doing today?" She chuckled good-naturedly. "You are sensei's favorite student, which means you should know, right?"

"Oh, no, Rami-chan," Yachi said, laughing a little nervously. _D-does she really think that I would know...?!_ "But whatever it is, I sure hope that it's not soccer or basketball..."

Another girl joined them, chewing a stick of Pocky biscuit, chocolate smearing the insides of her lips. "I heard that the gym teacher is gonna make us play against another class. Class 2-2, I believe it was."

"Wow, Kona-chan, you know everything," Rami praised, and Yachi couldn't help but feel a little inadequate, even when she knew that her feelings were misplaced. Ueno Konami really did have a knack for knowing everything relevant, and Yachi suspected that she either had teleportation skills or was an incredibly good stalker. She gave the class heads up on any surprise exams the teachers planned on giving them on their subjects. With her amaranth eyes always drooped to half-mast, and that lazy cat-like grin, nobody dangerous (like the teachers) ever suspected her, especially since she slept through classes half the time.

Konami had been in Yachi's class last year as well, and the blonde had a feeling that Konami was just one of those geniuses that popped up every generation. Too bad she was so unmotivated when it came to school. Yachi had good word that all Konami did at home was bum around, reading comics with her long black hair piled up in a bun.

"Aw," Konami waved off Rami's admiration with one of her lazy smiles, "It's no big deal. Personally, I'd worry more about the test we're going to have next next Friday. It's supposed to be worth ten percent of our grade."

"W-WHAT?!" Rami groaned, looking like she wanted nothing more than to disappeared into the ground. "Are you serious? Why haven't I heard of this stupid test?"

"We only get notified of important tests one week before the day of the exam," Yachi reminded her. Ikeda Rami really could be a scatterbrain sometimes, but she was talented when it came to mathematics and music, an odd combination that earned her a place in one of the top classes of the second year.

"Ohh, yeah. I forgot."

Konami's lips curved upward in amusement, and Yachi was reminded of a cat about to toy with its prey. "Heh, of course you did... Remember when you accidentally threw your wallet into the bin by accident but you didn't notice until you got back into class? And then you couldn't remember which bin it was and ended up searching through every single trashcan in the school..." She let out a small laugh at the memory, and Yachi joined her.

"Y-you guys!" Rami glared at them. "Yeesh. I wish I could say I was smarter than you both combined, but we all know that Kona-chan's only in our class because she was too lazy to actually try in all her exams. Otherwise you'd be in class 2-6, Kona-chan."

Konami finished the rest of her Pocky, looking just a tad sheepish. "Hehe, I guess you're right... oh well, all's well that end's well, am I right? This is high school, you know. We should make it the best experience of our lives before entering," she shivered dramatically, practically hissing out the next word, " _adulthood_."

"Oh, horror!" Rami humored the black-haired girl before tying up her brownish-pink hair into twin-tails. "Let's hurry girls, or sensei will yell at us for slacking off."

They exited the change rooms ahead of a few latecomers, falling into line with their classmates, boys and girls separate. Opposite them, another class faced them, their genders currently being divided by the gym teacher.

Yachi spotted Hinata and Kageyama not too far away in the other class, and grinned at them, waving. Hinata smiled back and returned her wave eagerly, Kageyama giving her some gruff—but not too gruff, because heaven forbid any boy who was gruff with Yachi (the girl had an entire team of athletes backing her up!).

"Alright, classes!" the female gym teacher shouted over the talking, effectively silencing the students with her loud, commanding voice. She had short dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. Yachi knew that many students speculated that she was from America or some other Caucasian country. No matter—she spoke Japanese just as well as any of them. "Today we're going to be playing volleyball! Class against class; boys against boys and girls against girls! All of you, form teams of six! Then go and set up the equipment!"

"Yes, sensei!" they all chorused back before proceeding to do as she said. With their combined efforts, two nets were set up on opposite sides of the gym—one for the boys and one for the girls. They would have to alternate after every game, with the winners facing a fresh team and so on.

The teacher chose to hang around the girls first, and Yachi found herself and her teammates on the sidelines, watching a team from her class and a team from the other class face off.

"Who do you think's going to win?" Rami wondered, looking at Yachi, then at Konami.

"I have faith in our class!" Yachi declared, feeling a rush of team spirit fill her body as she reminisced the times of the Karasuno boy's volleyball club playing in the national games. "Gambate!"

"Gambate!" a few other girls repeated, following Yachi's example. "Try your best, everyone!"

"Ehh..." Konami scratched her cheek, indifferent to the cheering. "To tell you the truth, I think we're gonna lose."

"Shame on you, Kona-chan!" one girl admonished. "Where's your sense of loyalty?"

Konami shrugged. "Hey, I'm just saying. It's not like I don't _want_ our team to win. But I have this itching feeling..."

Not even ten minutes later, the team playing for class 2-5 lost. Yachi stiffened, her mouth open wide in shock and embarrassment, and she wasn't the only one. It had been over so quickly. It was like watching a lion chase down an injured gazelle.

Konami placed her hands behind her head and yawned. "Toldja."

"Maaaan," Rami sighed. "Hopefully the next team does better."

But they didn't. In fact, the team playing for class 2-2 smashed their opponents again. By this time, the gym teacher was considering switching the winners out so that the other teams from class 2-2 would actually get a turn.

"Yeesh, how are they so good?" one girl complained from the back. "They don't look like anything special..."

"Actually..." Yachi blinked as she took in the girl's words. "That's because they're not." Her trained eyes could pick up on the fact that none of the girls on team class 2-5 were any good individually, or even as a team. There was just this one girl scoring most of the points for them. "That girl over there... the tallest one with the brown hair and glasses. She's the one that's scoring the most points!"

"Well, somebody sure is observant," Konami said offhandedly, her red eyes flashing in what seemed to be amusement. Yachi suppressed a shiver; the girl's motives were always hard to read. Or maybe she was just bad at analyzing people. "I'd expect nothing less from the manager of the esteemed boy's volleyball team, hehe..."

As expected, class 2-2 beat class 2-5 again. This time, it was Yachi's team's turn. Yachi gulped, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Hinata and Kageyama were watching the girl's game halfheartedly.

 _Okay!_ she coached herself, trying to muster up some confidence, _No need to worry! The boys have taught me how to do an underhand serve and receive almost decently... I can do this! I can! It's time for Townsperson B to shine once more!_ There was a nervous smile on her face as she stood where centre-back would be.

Rami and Konami, who were also in Yachi's team, took random positions, Rami settling at left wing, and Konami standing in the setter position. Yachi had an inkling that the black-haired girl had intended to clinch that spot, even if her torpid gaze revealed nothing. After a single rotation, Konami would be serving. Of course, that was counting on the chance that they would even get to rotate. Rotation meant winning a point, after all. And from the way class 2-5 were performing today, Yachi had her doubts.

 _Stop it!_ Yachi breathed out a small sigh. _I'm sure we can get at least one point, right? I mean, the first team got three points..._ She sweatdropped. This reassuring herself thing really wasn't working out too well.

The gym teacher blew her whistle and the other team served, sending the ball over the net. It was received, albeit clumsily, and Rami wasn't able to push it over the net.

"Don't mind, don't mind!" Yachi reassured her team when the whistle blew again, the gym teacher awarding the opposition with a point. "We'll win back that point!"

* * *

Hinata patted Yachi's shoulder awkwardly as he stood over her, the girl sitting on a bench and watching the current teams playing. "Yachi-san, don't feel so bad about things. You did your best, and that counts too."

Yachi moaned and pressed her face into her hands. "B-but, I made an inspiring speech and everything... I mean, it was hardly a speech but I got everyone fired up for a letdown!"

"Don't be like that," Hinata said, sounding cheerful. "Smile, Yachi-san; don't be gloomy! Otherwise you'll scare people away like Kageyama," he added with a snicker.

"Oi." Suddenly, Kageyama was behind him and looking murderous. "What did you just say?" He had been coming over to fetch Hinata when he'd heard the orange-haired boy's last words.

"Gyaah! Nothing, Kageyama!" Hinata grinned, sweatdropping. "Are we going to go play now? Is it our turn yet?"

"Don't try to change the subject, Hinata dumbass!"

"Don't kill me today!" Hinata yelled, bowing frantically. "Not when I'm finally starting to wake up!"

"Hrr..." Kageyama roughly grabbed him by the arm, dragging him to where another game was about to start. "Whatever, shrimp. Sorry, Yachi-san," he added as an afterthought, giving her a softer glance.

"It was no trouble," Yachi said, laughing nervously. "Really." _Hm, where did Rami-chan and Kona-chan go? They said they were going to get some wet towels, but they're taking an awfully long time..._ She got up and walked out of the gym in search for her two friends. Not long after, she found them at a block of sinks. Their backs were facing her, and they seemed to be talking to someone.

"Rami-chan, Kona-chan!" she called, jogging up to them. "What are you—huh?" Yachi blinked in surprised at the other girl. She had long, ungroomed brown locks and round glasses that sat skewed on her nose. But what Yachi was noticing most was the sheer height difference between them. _Sh-she must be at least five foot seven...! T-tall for a girl!_

"Yaachan," Rami said in lieu of greeting. "Sorry for taking so long, we were just talking..."

"Are we done here?" the mysterious girl suddenly cut in, frowning. "This whole conversation was so pointless..."

"Oi," Konami said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't care if you think it's pointless... what makes you think that it's alright to bully others like that?"

"Eh?" Yachi grew worried. "What's going on, you guys? What do you mean, bully others...?"

"What Kona-chan means," Rami jabbed a thumb at the tall girl, "Is that she should stop being such a jackass to that poor girl!" According to Rami, the girl had been picking on a smaller-sized student from her team during the game, and when Rami and Konami had gone outside to wet their towels, that had caught the girl pushing the other student to the ground.

"Where is she now?" Yachi wondered.

"We don't know," answered Rami, turning to glare at the bully, "She ran off somewhere."

"You three..." The tall girl looked away from Rami, indifferent except for a spark of annoyance in her eyes, "have no idea what you're talking about..."

"We saw everything!" Rami shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her. "You're nothing but a common bully—where the hell do you think you're going?!"

"Away. I don't have time for kids like you."

As she walked away, Konami raised her brows, contemplative. "Kids, huh...?" _What could she mean? We're in the same grade, after all. Perhaps... there really_ is _more to things than it seems._ She made a mental note to investigate further.

* * *

"You're skipping out on practice?" a bewildered Ennoshita repeated, blinking at Hinata in shock. "How come?"

"Something just came up," Hinata said apologetically, bowing his head. "Family... issues. Sorry, Chikara!"

"Well, that's okay, I guess. But don't make this an often thing. I hope your family issue gets resolved soon, Hinata."

"So do I," Hinata replied with a sigh before bidding Ennoshita goodbye and walking to the school gates. School ended not long ago, and Hinata had been lucky to catch Ennoshita alone. He really didn't need the rest of the team plus Sumire and Kageyama berating him for his supposed laziness or whatever.

"Hey, there, champ," Maru greeted when she saw Hinata walk out of the gate. She'd been waiting for him in their usual spot. "We're going shopping for snacks tonight. Also, more groceries."

"Yeah, okay," Hinata mumbled, fighting off a yawn. "What about now...?"

"Well," Maru grinned, "You're going to clean my house for me until it's spotless or I get hungry. Whichever comes first."

Hinata did a double take, remembering how dirty and unclean her house was the day he went over for the first time. "You... can't be serious!"

"Oh, you'll find out just how serious I am..."

As the unlikely duo walked off, a smaller figure rounded the corner, her gaze bored. Konami yawned before following after Maru and Hinata.

"Now, what could they be up to?" she wondered.

* * *

 _ **A/N: No, I did not name the teacher after BTS' Jin :P Jin-sensei is actually Jinsei-sensei, which sounds a bit odd so he shortens his name to Jin-sensei.**_


	7. Like Clockwork

_Karma has no menu. You get served what you deserve._

— _Somebody_

* * *

Hinata huffed as he scrubbed the toilet, sweat beading on his face. The toilet brush flattened against the edges of the toilet bowl before Hinata finally released the damn thing, his arms aching.

This was an absolutely shit (no pun intended) situation.

Hinata pressed his ear against the closed bathroom door, hearing Maru whistling in another room. Ripping noises could be heard.

"What?" Hinata muttered to himself, "What is she doing?" He gave the toilet brush one last glance before opening the door, relishing the air conditioning that blasted into his face. He walked down the corridor, stopping in he living room, where he saw Maru tearing something apart.

"Hinata," Maru said without turning around, continuing to rip at whatever was in her hands. "Are you done with the toilet yet?"

"Eh?!" Hinata flinched, grimacing. "How did you—"

"You walk loudly." She finally turned around, the ceiling light glancing off her glasses. "So, are you done or what?"

"Done?" This time, Hinata outright glared at her. "No, I'm not done! I know I agreed to your deal but..." He made a face. "I'm sick of cleaning the toilets...!" _Why does she live in such a big house by herself anyway? Instead of just one bathrooms, I'm cleaning three!_

Maru stared at him intently, to the point that Hinata was having second thoughts about his outburst. Perhaps he should just go back down quietly and—

"Fine, whatever. I was getting hungry anyway." Maru walked over to a nearby bin for paper and dropped the paper shreds into the can. "Let's go to the grocery store."

He blinked. "What. Now?"

"Yeah. Problem?"

"No, but..." Hinata puffed out his cheeks indignantly. "Just because you're being nicer doesn't mean—"

"Actually, I really am hungry, so can we go already?"

"I—"

"Oh, I'm sorry, was the beginning of my sentence interrupting the middle of yours?"

By now, Hinata was certain that she was being troll just for the sake of being a troll. Rolling his eyes, he picked up his jacket and tossed it around his shoulders. Tonight would be slightly chilly.

"Cute," Maru commented as they left the house.

Hinata blushed, eyes widening. "What do you mean?"

"I said you're cute. Like a puppy."

At that, his face fell. "I told you, I'm not your dog. I'm only doing this to protect Miku. If it was just me, you'd be cleaning your own toilets." He beamed triumphantly, thinking that he had won this round.

"So you're Miku's dog."

"Exact—what, no! I'm not anyone's dog."

Maru tilted her head. "Could've fooled me."

"Hey!" Hinata glared at the pavement, his hands clenched. _Dammit, she's not exactly wrong... but she doesn't have to be so... so mean about it!_ He said as much, and Maru stared at him, unimpressed.

"Alright then," she said, "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, tell me about yourself."

"Hah?" Hinata gave a strange look. _She's moving so quickly... she drops matters faster than I can tie my shoelace!_ "Like what?"

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

He sweatdropped. _She sounds like a teacher now... or my aunties and uncles._ "A volleyball player. What about you?" _Getting to know each other isn't as bad as scrubbing toilets, at least._

"Geez, really..." Maru blew a strand of hair out of her face, adjusting her glasses. "I'm pretty content with life as it is now... I don't want things to change." She huffed. "Well, when I graduate... I'm going to be an astronaut."

Hinata noted that she didn't use the word 'want', opting for 'going to be' instead. "Don't you need really, really good grades for that kind of career?" _She's in my class; not even in the college prep classes._

"Yeah." Her lips curved upward ever so slightly. "What; are you saying I'm dumb?"

"Erk! N-no, that's not it! Well... uhh..." He pointed a finger at her. "D-don't misinterpret my words like that!"

"Ah," she waved a hand at him, "you're so easy to wind up. How cute." As if to make a point, she slouched in a way that allowed her to be at eye level with the diminutive boy. "Hinata, I know I'm not the brightest person around, but anything can be achieved with hard work."

"Anything?"

"Yeah." Maru threw back her head and laughed. "Of course, I'm too lazy to work hard!"

"Eh?! And you sounded so cool before too..." _Maru-chan is so strange,_ Hinata thought, _She can be really straightforward and blunt, but she has a very weird sense of humor as well._

"Cool?" Maru repeated, "Hinata, I'm not cool. All I do is stay indoors and play video games and read manga and light novels. Why do you think my house is so dirty? I never have time to clean because I'm so busy with my games and reading material."

" _That's_ why your house is so dirty?!" he exclaimed, "All this time, I thought you were just incapable of taking care of yourself!" _This girl...!_

"Hm?" Maru grinned. "There's that too, don't get me wrong."

Hinata's eyebrows knitted together as he fully put on his jacket, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. "You know, you can't be an astronaut if you can't even cook dinner for yourself." Maru's eyebrows raised; the boy was sounding particularly serious. "If you're that lazy... you'll never get anything done. How can you expect to be an astronaut? If you really want to be an astronaut, you can't afford to laugh through life like this." He stared imploring at her before breaking his gaze away, his solemn demeanor melting away. "Oh, there's the convenient store!"

As the words sank into Maru, Hinata picked up the pace, leaving her to linger in her own thoughts.

"This kid," she muttered, "Is nuts. Oi!" she called after him. Had he been anyone else, she would have likely busted his melon (a phrase that her dear old dad had liked to use).

He jumped; he would have smacked his head against glass had the doors not been automatic. "H-huh?"

"What do _you_ want for dinner?"

* * *

"You're so cheap," Maru said when they emerged from the store with meat buns.

"Sorry," he said, sounding not very apologetic at all.

* * *

Ueno Konami couldn't help but lean to the side as she eavesdropped on a conversation in the aisle next to the one she was standing in. She had a pair of hollowed out headphones over her ears, and her eyes were at half-mast (as per usual), giving others around her the illusion that she was lost in her own little world.

"And then she pushed me over!" the girl who was talking exclaimed to her friend. Konami knew that this had been the girl that Saito Maru—that ungroomed girl from this afternoon—had 'bullied' during the volleyball game.

She—Konami—had followed one Saito Maru and one Hinata Shouyo into the store just to be diverted by this very interesting conversation.

"Oh my gosh!" her friend cried, and Konami imagined her placing a hand over her mouth in shock.

"I know, right?! And all I did was," she dropped her voice to a whisper and Konami had to press the side of her head against some instant noodle packets to hear properly, "tease her about her gang background. My dad is a police officer, you see, and he knows all about her Yakuza family because he worked on a case involving them a few years ago."

"And she hit you just for that? How uncool!"

Konami blinked, staring at the floor as she absorbed the new information. These two girls were notorious for being huge liars, but she was plenty certain that this was the real deal.

"I'm going to tell the whole school about her," sneered the girl, "She'll be so hated that she'll have no choice but to leave school and go back to her hick home!"

"Hick home?" murmured Konami.

"Hick home?" the girl's friend at the same time. "What do you mean?"

"After her family became ex-Yakuza—otou-san told me he saw her father's missing finger!—they moved to the countryside and lived off growing and selling potatoes and radishes."

"Wow. And after that?"

"Dunno. I guess they're all dead now? Since she's here and all."

"Haha, serves her right..."

Konami took a deep breath and exhaled, folding her arms. _Wow, to think there's someone like that at our school._ She frowned. _I'm going to have to take some extreme measures... how bothersome._

She fished out her phone from her skirt pocket, pulling up a screen full of information about nearly everybody in the school. Saito Maru did not have a profile yet; and Konami didn't have dirty information about her friends or certain teachers that she liked.

The black-haired girl fiddled with some things before finally finding the profiles that she needed.

"I really hate to do this," she said to herself, quietly, "But I have a feeling that Saito won't appreciate it if these girls blab. And the fact that they seem like complete bitches doesn't really help their case..." _Just because these two are known as huge liars won't mean that everybody won't believe them. They'll always be those fools that believe anything they say. But if they're going to do dirty things..._

Her fingers practically flew across her phone screen.

 _... They need to learn how to clean up after themselves._

* * *

Ennoshita Yuuna sighed deeply when she heard Nagisa call her name. The girl turned around to see her best friend running toward her in the corridor, waving her phone around.

"What is it now? Is this about Comiket again? Because you know that I—"

"Just look!" Nagisa said impatiently, shoving the phone into Yuuna's face.

Grumbling, Yuuna took the device from her, her eyes widening when she read what was on the screen. "Whoa, you're kidding! I thought they'd have way more integrity than that! I'm going to send this to Chikara."

On the other side of the school, Miku was brushing her hair in a bathroom mirror when her phone dinged. The girl pulled it out, the hair tie in her mouth nearly falling out when she read what one of her friends had sent her.

"Oh, good morning, Kimura-chan," Yachi said as she entered the bathrooms, her cheeks slightly flushed from running or some other strenuous activity. "Haha, I'm running a bit late today..." _Training went a bit late... I feel a bit guilty for leaving the boys to clean up but I really needed to use the bathroom..._

"Oh, hi, Yaachan! Hey, have you seen this? To think that people at our school do these kinds of things." Miku gave Yachi her phone.

"Huh?" Yachi quickly skimmed through a bunch of social media posts before going slack-jawed and blushing deeply. "Oh my gosh!" she squeaked. "Now that I think about it, I did see them with some older men downtown the other week..." _How could they possibly do this?_

"The photo evidence is right there," said Miku, scowling, "I knew that those two were horrible, but not this bad!"

 _Isn't she the girl that that bigger girl supposedly pushed over?_ Yachi asked herself as she took a closer look at the photo. _Perhaps there was a lot more to that incident than I thought._

At the shoe lockers, Rami was changing into her indoor shoes when her phone dinged. Konami had sent her something. She opened it up and immediately gaped at what she was seeing. "Eww...!"

The volleyball boys had just finished cleaning up the gym when all of them simultaneously received alerts for their social medias. There was a mild outcry as all of them scrambled to remove their phones from wherever they kept them.

"Argh!" cried Yamaguchi, patting his pants pocket. "I think I lost my phone...!"

"You left it on the bench so I grabbed it for you," Tsukishima said, presenting the missing phone to his best friend. "Don't be so careless next time or you really will lose it for real, Yamaguchi."

"A-ah, sorry, heh."

But Tsukishima was no longer paying attention. _What could it be?_ Perhaps it was a notification for Sycamore Valley Online, a popular MMORPG that Tsukishima had been playing for a little while now, having joined near the end of his first year. But why would everyone else get that same notification? Tsukishima scratched that off his list.

"I got a text from my sister," Ennoshita said, reading the message aloud, " _You need to see this._ "

"I got one from Miku," Hinata supplied. "What about you, Kageyama?"

"From my Spacebook and Flitter feed," the black-haired boy replied, frowning. "It's... a post about two girls in our grade, Hinata."

"GWAH!" Nishinoya suddenly exclaimed, his face going beet red. "I-I—I don't believe it!"

"What, what?!" Tanaka shouted. "My internet is laggy! What does it say?"

"Sycamore Valley is having a sale on diamonds!" Hinata suddenly yelled, his eyes becoming stars, having scrolled to something completely off-topic.

Tsukishima stared impassively at the back of Hinata's head. _So, he plays Sycamore Valley too, huh? ... I hope I never meet him in-game._

"Not that!" Noya showed Tanaka and Hinata the contents of his phone. "This!"

At that, all of them nearly fell over.

"C-compensated dating?" Hinata stammered, as if he had never heard of such a thing before.

Kageyama scowled. "Why would you ever go out with old men? Even for money..."

"Who posted this?" Ennoshita wondered, frowning. _If my sister got her hands on it, I'm betting that everyone else in the school did as well..._

"Someone who calls herself 'Mystery-chan'," Kinoshita said helpfully, "This isn't the first time she's posted something dirty about someone in the school. There's a long string of other posts."

"Can we trust the source?"

"Well, there _is_ photo evidence."

"Gah, yuck! This is getting too explicit! Why are they kissing?!"

"That old man looks like a prune."

"Okay, everyone, calm down!" Ennoshita said sternly. "I know this is pretty big, but don't get too worked up about it. The school will decide on how to discipline them. Whether they'll be suspended or expelled, I don't know. But this isn't our problem, so we shouldn't let it affect us. Understand?"

"Yes, captain!"

Inwardly, Ennoshita sighed in relief. _Thank goodness. How did Daichi handle all of them so well?_ These boys were a real handful... _I can't_ wait _until the first years arrive._ No application forms had been handed in for the club yet, but after Karasuno made it to nationals, Ennoshita was sure that they'd start getting them soon.

* * *

"Well, don't you look like the cat that just swallowed the canary," Rami remarked as she sat beside Konami in the first class of the day. "Would I be correct in assuming that...?"

"Yeah, that's my work," Konami said, placing her head on her desk. "After all that, I can't wait to take a nap..."

"Geez, you're so irresponsible. Did you stay up all night gaming?"

"Yeah."

"... Wow. Sycamore Valley again? Didn't you say that the guys in your guild are all jerks?"

"They are, which is why I'm leaving soon and starting my own. I've already got one guy agreeing to follow me. He thinks all of our guildmates are shitheads too, even if our guild is currently ranked number three in the server."

"Oh, who? Is it somebody we know?"

"It could be anyone in Japan for all I know. And I don't care either." Konami sat up slightly. "And don't act like I'm the only gamer bum around here, _PinkRami018._ "

"A-ack! Shut up, _Konacrow_."

Konami turned away, staring outside the window. _That Saito totally owes me one for this, even if she doesn't know about it herself._ With the dirt included in the exposure of those girls, they were pretty much guaranteed to expelled. Neither of them came from particularly rich or influential families, so they were no doubt going to get the boot.

She smiled her cat-like smile.

 _I almost feel bad._


End file.
